Quoting from Is Flickr the Next Media Giant?:
Wired News: When bombs went off in Jakarta, Indonesia, in September, CNN.com readers weren’t the first to know. Instead, members of Flickr, an online photo service, were among the very earliest to see pictures of what had happened.
“There were photos on Flickr before even any news stories,” said Caterina Fake, a Flickr co-founder. “Within the hour, three Flickr users who happened to be in Jakarta had uploaded photos.”